Otis batters Acapulco, Mexico after making landfall as Category 5 hurricane

More than 500,000 customers in Mexico lost electricity during Otis

Hurricane Otis left more than 500,000 power customers in the state of Guerrero without electricity, according to Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission.

The commission said it was able to remotely restore power to about 40% of those customers, adding that “as soon as conditions allow, personnel will go to work on site.”

A team of hundreds of electrical workers, cranes, emergency vehicles, generators and a helicopter have been enlisted to restore power, according to the commission.

Hurricane warning downgraded to tropical storm warning, but flooding risk persists

As Hurricane Otis continues to move farther inland, the government of Mexico discontinued the Hurricane Warning west of Acapulco, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The Hurricane Warning from Acapulco to the town of Punta Maldonado was also downgraded to a Tropical Storm Warning. The storm surge across Mexico’s southern coast is gradually subsiding.

Otis’ maximum sustained winds have decreased to 80 mph, and continued weakening is expected as the storm moves over the mountains of Mexico, the NHC said. Otis is expected to dissipate over southern Mexico tonight.

The storm is still expected to produce additional rainfalls totaling 4-6 inches across Guerrero and the Western coastal sections of Oaxaca, which may produce flash and urban flooding.

Officials race to restore phone lines in state of Guerrero, including Acapulco

Evelyn Salgado Pineda, governor of the state of Guerrero, said authorities “are already coordinating to restore telephone lines as soon as possible” after all communications collapsed in the area hit by Hurricane Otis.

Her office has remained in touch with the mayors of hard hit cities such as Acapulco as well as the regions of Costa Chica and Costa Grande, “where attention has already been provided to those who require it,” Salgado Pineda said on X.

Federal, state and municipal officials in Mexico have already met to start assessing hurricane damage, Salgado Pineda said, adding she will remain in Guerrero “attentive to the needs of our people.”

Video shows heavy damage after Hurricane Otis makes landfall in Mexico

X user @ClintonHaVi documented the hurricane’s impact on the Princess Mundo Imperial hotel in Acapulco, showing damaged infrastructure and flooded hallways.

Authorities in Acapulco have closed the city’s port, home to around 300 fishing boats. The city is known as a major tourist destination and beach resort town with a population of around 850,000 people, according to the Mexican government.

All communication around Acapulco is down, Mexico’s president says

All communication in the areas affected by Hurricane Otis have collapsed, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a press conference Wednesday morning.

López Obrador said they are looking to start repairs as soon as it is possible.

Authorities in Mexico still don’t have any information about deaths caused by the hurricane, “but remember, we have no communication yet,” López Obrador said.

He added that material damages are accumulating, but it’s too early to assess the extent of that damage.

While Otis was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, López Obrador said they expect rain all day in the state of Guerrero, where it made landfall overnight.

López Obrador said the biggest concern today are the people living from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo.

3 million people under flood watch from central Oklahoma to Texas

Around 3 million people in the U.S. are under a flood watch due to Otis, stretching from central Oklahoma to Del Rio Texas. Heavy hourly rainfall rates across the region of 1 to 3 inches could cause flash flooding in already oversaturated soil.

“The moisture from [Otis] is now starting to stream up from Mexico and get caught up into the jet stream and brought up into Texas,” NBC News weather anchor Al Roker said.

More rapidly intensifying hurricanes in a warming world

Kathryn Prociv

Otis rapidly intensified by 115 mph in 24 hours and 80 mph in 12 hours.

Rapidly intensifying hurricanes (defined as strengthening 35 mph in 24 hours), are becoming more frequent and there is a growing body of research linking this increase to human-caused climate change.

Human activity has not only led to warming in the atmosphere, but also in the oceans, and the oceans have absorbed 90% of the warming that has occurred in recent decades due to increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Warm water is the main fuel for hurricanes, and so warmer oceans fuel stronger hurricanes. As oceans continue to warm, this increases the probability of tropical cyclones undergoing rapid intensification.

Hurricane Otis intensified when it tracked over Pacific sea surface temperatures that were nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit. (That is approximately 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit above average.)

As seen with Hurricane Otis, rapid intensification can be challenging to forecast. This is why an explosively intensifying hurricane on approach to landfall is a nightmare scenario and contributes to the human and financial toll of these types of hurricanes especially when slamming into a populated area such as Acapulco.

According to Climate Central, the six most costly hurricanes since 1980 all rapidly intensified 45-80 mph in the span of 24 hours.

Video shows Hurricane Otis lashing Acapulco

Video posted to X early this morning by @ClintonHaVi shows palm trees violently swaying in Acapulco as heavy rain and powerful winds from Otis slam the region.

Stats on Otis’ rapid intensification

Kathryn Prociv

In just 24 hours, Otis rapidly intensified from a tropical storm with 50 mph winds to a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 165 mph.

That is a 115 mph increase, and the definition for rapid intensification for a storm is just 35 mph within that time span. The storm intensified wind speeds by 80 mph in just 12 hours.

Guerrero state government prepares shelters in anticipation of storm surge

The Guerrero state government said it was preparing 396 shelters in anticipation of families being driven from their homes by wind damage or surging waters.

“If your house is safe: Don’t go out at all,” Acapulco Mayor Abelina López Rodríguez warned on Facebook, sharing the locations of 25 temporary shelters across Acapulco. “If your home is at risk: Go to a shelter NOW.”

In a post on X, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told people to go to shelters; stay away from rivers, streams and ravines; and be on alert.

Hurricane Otis slams Mexico’s southern Pacific coast

Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, as a Category 5 hurricane around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, bringing life-threatening storm surges and dangerous waves to Mexico’s southern Pacific coast. Maximum wind speeds reached around 165 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm was downgraded to a Category 2 storm around 8 a.m. as it moved inland, lowering the wind speeds to around 110 mph. The National Hurricane Center expects the center of Otis to move farther inland over southern Mexico throughout tonight, rapidly weakening over the next 12 to 24 hours.

Strongest storm to hit a city in decades

Kathryn Prociv

This storm hitting Acapulco means it is the first time since 1979 that a Category 5 hurricane has directly affected such a large metro area.

Back then, Hurricane David slammed Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with estimated winds of 150 knots.